The increased expectations of the Government and the great importance it attached to the visit of the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, were confirmed in the clearest way during his meeting with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.
According to InBusinessNews sources, during both the private meeting and the extended talks between the two delegations, in the presence of ministers from both countries, the Emir of Qatar reiterated to the President of the Republic the Emirate’s interest in the development of strategic cooperation with Cyprus in matters of investment.
More specifically, reference was made to the Emirate’s interest in investments, mainly in ports, energy and the financial sector.
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also expressed Qatar’s interest in investing in start-up companies dealing with technology, as well as in the fields of culture, transport and tourism.
In fact, and in order to turn this interest into action, it was decided to set up a special working group, with the Deputy Minister to the President, Irine Piki, taking over the coordination on the part of the Republic of Cyprus.
As InBusinessNews has been informed, ministers and other officials from both countries will participate in the working group, while it was decided that specific results will be evaluated in six months, so that investments from Qatar can be put on track.
During the contacts that will take place over the coming period between the two countries, a number of ripe projects in which Qatar could invest will be put on the table and extensively discussed with the aim of clarifying which of them are ultimately of interest to the Emirate and how it can implement them or participate in their implementation.
The port of Larnaca is also on the table
However, it is worth mentioning that with regard to investments in ports, among other things, the latest developments were discussed in relation to the unified development of the port and marina of Larnaca, including the termination of the state’s contract with Kition.
From the government’s point of view, in fact, it was emphasised to the Emir of Qatar and his entourage that the project is quite ready for implementation, as well as that decisions will soon be made on how it will proceed.
It is noted that such projects are considered to be quite interesting to the Qataris, because they are long-term collaborations, which can reach or exceed 80 to 90 years.
Interest in investing in energy infrastructure
In the energy sector, in addition to the interest in the Cypriot EEZ and the participation of the Emirate’s state energy company, Qatar Energy, in Blocks 5 and 10, Qatar also wants to expand into the creation of energy infrastructure in Cyprus, such as infrastructure for energy storage and photovoltaics.
Therefore, the next months are considered very important and it cannot not be ruled out that even before the end of the year, Qatar will gradually start investing in Cyprus.
It is worth mentioning that the Government clearly and very positively evaluates the special interest shown by the Emir of Qatar to invest in major projects and hopes that this will be implemented.
(Source: InBusinessNews)
